Military service or tactical carbines, such as the CAR-15 or the M4 are generally well known. These carbines are provided in a generally standardized configuration which is intended to allow a soldier or another user to carry and to use the carbine in typically harsh field conditions. In its standard configuration, the military service or tactical carbine includes a buttstock that is supported by an extension tube which includes a buffer assembly recoil spring. The stock may be slidable, with respect to the body or receiver of the carbine, to accommodate to the diverse physical characteristics of the various military and para-military forces who tend to use such carbines. Other than its ability to collapse, the buttstock of the generally known military service and tactical carbines do not provide any storage capability.
In the M16 A2 or A1 stock, there is provided a small storage capacity. This is typically available for the storage of a cleaning rod which can be broken down into a plurality of sections, together with the customary cleaning attachments that one would expect to use with a cleaning rod. However, the standard buttstock of a military service or tactical carbine, such as the CAR-15 or M4 does not have such a storage cavity and thus cannot carry even the smallest of emergency supplies or a replacement clip of ammunition.
It is often imperative that spare magazines be readily available. In combat situations, a soldier may be cut-off from a source of supply of clips of ammunition. Various stop-gap solutions to the problem have been proposed but none has proven to be particularly acceptable. Spare magazines have been taped together, either side-by-side or end-to-end or have been secured together through the use of clumsy “duplex” clamping devices. Such make-shift arrangements are clumsy, not particularly secure and prone to fail under strenuous usage. In an effort to overcome the obvious limitations of these efforts to carry spare clips or magazines, the users of those previous military service or tactical carbines have attempted to attach spare clips or magazines using a variety of straps or slings. Such efforts are generally fruitless.
Spare magazines or clips are open at one end, so that the rounds can be stripped off the top and fed into the firing chamber. The only time that the open top of a clip or a magazine is not open is when the clip is actually loaded into the rifle or carbine. The spare clips or magazines are thus susceptible to entry of dirt and debris, particularly in combat or field environments. An attempt has been made to provide removable covers for such spare clips. However, if the cover is able to stay in place during the typical rough handling to which the clips or magazines are subjected, it is apt to be difficult to remove in a combat situation. Without such a cover, there is a potential for the dirt or debris which enters the clip to either jam the firing mechanism of the carbine or to cause other similar, potentially very dangerous malfunctions.
It will be readily apparent that a need exists for a collapsible buttstock, usable with a military service or tactical weapon, that overcomes the limitations of the prior art. The collapsible carbine stock, with a spare magazine storage enclosure, in accordance with the subject invention, overcomes the limitations of the prior art.